GOLFMEDIC

Tip From the Archives

Golf Exercises

Problem

You shift too much or sway instead of turn during your backswing due to poor abdominal muscle strength. This causes your upper body to move past your back leg, preventing the proper upper body rotation needed for a powerful swing.

Cure

Strengthen your abdominal muscles and improve flexibility for better balance and turning power during your backswing.

Therapy

To help build abdominal strength, spend about ten minutes a day on at least two of the following exercises; try to alternate between them each day. Stand up tall with feet shoulder width apart. Place both of your hands behind your head. Now twist slowly and try to look as far behind you as possible while keeping your hips facing forwards. You should feel a pull on your abdominal muscles if you twist slowly enough. After doing this ten or more times, lift your left knee up towards your right elbow as it moves forward but do not make contact. In order to properly strengthen your abs and obliques, you need to keep your body standing very straight as you do this; so lift your knee no closer than one foot away from your elbow. Try a few stomach crunches by lying on the floor with your knees bent; place a pillow between your knees and squeeze it as long as you are doing stomach crunches. Hold your hands behind your head then lift and curl your shoulders towards your knees. Return to the floor and repeat at least twenty times. Then, lie flat on the floor with your hands turned down under your bottom. Lift your legs and upper body a few inches off of the ground at the same time. You should feel a pull on your abdominal muscles as you do this. Repeat and stay in this position as you lift one leg higher at a time, moving your legs as if they were scissors opening and closing. Try to do at least thirty leg lifts before relaxing on the floor and then repeating only the leg lifts.

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